Folding mechanism



Dec. 22, 1931. c, Q HOWARD 1,837,661

FOLDING MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 C'- C. Hbward.

/ ark-M4043:-

Dec. 22, 1931. c. c. HOWARD FOLDING MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 avwcufo c 6. Howard Dec. 22, 1931. c Q HOWARD 1,837,661

FOLDING MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 22, 1931. c. c. HOWARD FOLDING MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 22, 1931. c. c. HOWARD FOLDING MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet in, I

1:7;- having 1. ing the operating gearing,

Patented Dec. 22, 1931' 11mm STATES" cHARLns onowan'n, or LOUISVI LE, Knnrnoxr ro niNe MECHANISM AT M F Original application filed November 22, 1928, Serial no. 321,216. mv aea' na this application med: 7

September 20, 1929.

This application isa, division of an application filed by me November 22, 1928, Serial .NO. 321,216. 7 r

l: have heretofore produced a book in which the several leaves have beenformed with tongues along their binding edges, the tongues of alternate leaves'being relatively staggered so that the application of adhesive 7 to the free ends of'the tongues will cause the gether, relative transverse shifting of the leaves being prevented by the tongues on one leaf passing through the'spaces or notches between the tongues onv "an adjacent; leaf. The present lIIVQIItIOD'PIOVIClQS means where- V by the leaves will be received from the cutting; mechanism, the free ends of the tongues folded on themselves,and the leaves then deliver-ed to means for applying adhesiveto the tongues, the alinement of the sheets or hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly defined in the appendedclaimsa In the drawingsi V Figure l is a side elevation of a machine the v present invention embodied therein,

Figure 2 is a detailelevation of a portion of the side of the machine, opposite. the side showseen in Figure 1, and more particularly Figure 3 is a longitudinal section, Figure 4i is'a plan view of the chute, Figure 5 is a section on the line 5- 5'of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is the folding devices in elevation,

Figure 7 is a section on the line 77 of Figure 6,

Figure 8-is a vlew" similar to Figure 7,

iii showing the parts in a different position,

tongues on alternate leaves to besecured to-" The invention is illus-- trated in the accompanying drawlngs and re-' '12- s1 des 1n certain'novel features wh1ch wlll be a transverse section, showing Serial No. 394,007

Figure 9 is a-somewhat enlarged detail of p a part of the mechanismshown in Figures '7 and 8,

In the operation ofa machine embodying the present invention, the sheets or leaves of paper are. carried over a feedtable 4to cutters 5 by the action of which notches are cut in their advancing or forward ends to produce tongues, the tongues upon successive sheets being'relatively staggered A motor 7 drives all the working elements. a

7 From thecutters, the sheets pass forward ly'into achute consisting of an inclined table 82 carried by frame-members 84 and having its upper end arranged immediately adja cent a pair of feed rollers 85 and 86which are located immediately at the rear of the cutting devices, as shown in Figure l', the

roller '85 being a hard surface positively; driven roller and the upperroller 86 being a presser roller having a moreor less resilient working surface and resting by gravity upon the roller 85. The advancing edge of-the sheet with the tongues cut thereon passes directlyfrom the cutting table to the'bight of the rollers 85 and 86 and will, of course, be gripped thereby and'fed into the chute, and preferably the upper presser roller will be in;

peripheries while the lower roller will-lie, continuous and extend across the entirewidthj of the machine. Guard fingers 87 are "provided at the rear of thefeed rollers and eX- tend longitudinally above the chute'so that the leaves or sheets will be prevented from flying over the chuteand-will be turned downinto the same, it being understood that, in

alined sections provided with rather narrow actual operation, the action is so rapid that i the sheets pass from the'cutting mechanism" at very high speed and areapt to fly some distance beyond the feed rollers' after leaving thela-tter. The guards87 are preferably leaf springs secured at their lower ends tobrack ets'88 andhaving their upper ends supported byra cross rod 89 secured in any approved manner to the main frame, the brackets 88- being secured on an angle bar '90 which extends across the main frame above and in advance of the bight-forming elements of the folding mechanism. At the lower end of the table 82 is a slotted cross bar 91 over which the cut end edge of the sheet comes to I rest, a transverse stop bar 92 being arranged adjacent the lower edge of the slotted bar,

7 91 in the path of the sheet, as shown in Figure 7. Depending from the cross bar 91 and the frame bars 841 are guide plates 93 each having a groove 9 1 in its inner face. Immediately over and spaced from the slotted bar 91 and secured upon theframe bars in any convenient manner is a guiding shield 95 a which is curved upwardly and serves as a deflector so thatif a sheet advancing to the fold-, ing mechanism should tend to rise from the table '82 it will beturned back onto the same by this deflector. 'Carried by bearings in brackets 96 secured on the frame bars 84 are rollers 97 which have slight longitudinal cor-' rugations in their peripheries andareso disposed that the bight defined bythem will be.

'alinedwith the slot 98 in thecrossbar 91, and itis to be vnoted that the rear edge of the dos flector 95pisdisposed in a plane slightly in advance of a plane passing through the slot 98Jand between the rollers 97. I Slidablymounted in the grooves 94 in the guideplates 93 is a head plate 99 and a folder blade 100, the folderblade having, a reinforcing plate 101secured to itslower'end portionwherebv buckling of'the blade, is prevented, and the blade and said plate being secured to the 1 head plate 99 by set bolts 102 inserted through plurality of brackets 104 which have lips 105 and the reinforcing vertically extending slots 103 in the blade and the plate 101, as shown clearly in Figure 7.

iThis construction permits the blade to be adjusted to compensate for wear and'alsoto attain the desired throw of theblade in the holding operation. Secured to the lower edge of the head plate 99 is a bracket ora projecting under the lower edges of the blade said lip is mounte plate and facilitating its adjustment in an obvious manner. Theupper end or the Working edge of theblade is intended to be within the slot 98 whenthe blade is in its lowest position sothat it will be in position to immediately engage a sheet or-sh'eets extending over the slot. The stop bar 92- has a bracket 107 secured on its upperside' and projecting forwardly therefrom to aline with the rear 'wall of the slot 98,- and at the frontedge of said bracket is an upstanding lip 108 which passes into the space between the rollers 97 and isbeveled so that it may fit closeto the adjacent roller. Guide pins or rods, 109 depend from the stop bar 92 at or near the ends thereof and passthrough guide lugs 110 pro ijecting from the head plate 99, and secured plate 101, and in each a set screw 106- bearing against the lower edge of the reinforcing to said guide pins 109, adjacent the upper ends thereof, are brackets 111 to which are pivoted the upper ends of links 112', the lower ends of said links being pivoted to the rear ends of levers 113 which are fulcrumed between their ends upon brackets or fulcrum blocks 114 securedto the lower corners of the guide plates 93, the forward ends of said levers projecting under the head plate 99 and reinforcing plate 101. Abutment screws 115 are fitted through the free ends of the levers 113 to be engaged by the head plate 99 or the reinforcing plate 101 when the folder blade is lowered, and springs 116 extend be tween and are attached to the fulcrum'of the respective lever"113 and thebracket 111" so that thesprings tend by their contraction to a lower the stop bar 92 and the bracket 107 carried thereby. Upon referring to Figures 7 and 8, it will be understood that, when the folder blade is lowered, the levers 113 will be rocked so thatthe stop bar 92 will be raised and will be interposed in the path of a sheet v advancingover the table 82 and the cross bar 91. As the upwardniovement of the folder blade occurs, the springs 116 will draw the stop bar92 downwardly so that the project ing'portion of the bracket 10? will rest upon the edge of the sheet atthe rear of the slot- 98 and will yieldably hold the sheet so that as the upward movement of the folder blade continues the edge of the sheet will befolded or doubled upon itselfand moved past the lip 108 and carried into the bight of the folding rollers '97 as shown in Figure 8, whereby the end edges of the several tongues will be doubled on themselves for a portion of their length; Y 7 a j Pivoted to and depending from the brackets 10 l are links 117 which have their lower endspivoted to crank arms or levers 118 e:-;- tending upwardly, and forwardly and secured to a'rock shaft 119 j ournaled in suitable bearings secured upon the standards Secured to the rock shaft 119 is a crank arn1120 which lot extends forwardly toa point below the shaft member 123 is secured to the end of the crank 120' and is slotted so that itmay pass the shaft 27, as will be understood upon referenceto Figure Then the crank 120 .i.-: swung: downwardly, the stop member 123 will, of course, follow the movement an'd'the upper end of the slot or opening therein will eventually be brought into contact with the shaft 27 so that the blade cannot move into binding relation with the rollers 97. 'The the cam 122, a tension spring 124 is provided about the shaft 119 having one end engaged with the crank and its other end engaged with an adjacent frame member.

The actionof the folding mechanism is so timed relative to the action of the cutters that two sheets or leaves will be brought into position for folding before the folder blade moves upwardly. This feature of the machine is desirable because the tongueson adjacent leaves are staggered and the tongues on one leaf fit within the spaces between the tongues on another leaf and by folding two leaves simultaneously the relation of the tongues is established and they are so pre-' sented to the glue-applying elements that the, glue will be applied through the full width of the leaf at each operation. It is essential that the leaves be properly alined when presented t0 the folder mechanism and there are, therefore, provided jogger de vices mounted upon the table 82. The table 82 has a central longitudinal plate 125 set therein and in one side edge of the table-82 is a longitudinally extending recess 126.

The plate 125 has a longitudinal slot 127;

formed therein, the walls of the slot being rabbeted, as shown'at 128 in'Figure 5, and carried by said rabbeted walls is a slide 129 to the upper side of whichissecured a plate 130 which serves as a cover for the slot and rests upon the plate 125 to aid in supporting the slide. Secured to the upper end of the slide 129 and projecting transversely thereof to play over the table 82 is a jogger bar 131,

from the upper edge of'which a cover and.

guide plate 132 extends at an angle to the top of the table so as to meetthe table and form a skid over which the advancing sheets may pass. Thesheets, of course, will drop onto the. table at the rear of the jogger bar 131 and said bar is reciprocated so thatthe 7 sheets will be pushed rearwardly to come to rest against the stop bar 92, and it may be noted at this point that the rear edge of the slotted bar 91 is longitudinally recessed, as shown at 133 in Figure 6, to accommodate said stop bar and permit the lip 108 to extend the full length of the rollers 97. Toef fect thedesired jogging reciprocatory motion of the bar 131, a link 134 is provided below thetable and the plate 125 and has its front end pivoted to the under side of the slide 129 while its rear end is pivoted to the inner end of a bell crank l35 which is fulcrumed on a pitmanv 136 slidably mounted in the frame bar.84,' as'indicated at 137, and having its outer" end projecting through the frame bar:

84 to be operatively engaged with the rocking'arm 138. 'Said' rocking arm 138 extends forwardly and is secured to a rock shaft 139,

mounted vertically up on theadj acent standard 2,. and atthe lower end of said shaft 139 is secured afcrank or rocking arm '140 which extends forwardly and is equipped at its for wardend with a roller 141 bearing againsta cam 142which is'secured upon a transverse shaft geared to thermotor. As the shaft-rotates, the crank114'0'wi llfofcourse, be rocked in a horizontal plane and this movement will be transmitted through the shaft 139 to, rock the arm 138.; When the high partofthe cam 142'a'cts to rock the arm 140,.thearm 138 will-push the, pitman-136 inwardly .and the bell crank 135 will be, consequently, rocked to pull thejoggeri bar 131rearward and; causethe end of the sheetto rest squarely against the stop bar 92. As the low part of thecam reaches the roller 141, an expansion spring: 143, :arranged betweenthe rocking arm 138 andthe frame member 84, will ex pand and rock the arm in. the reverse direction so thatthe jogger bar will-be moved up wardly upon-the table 82." Carried by. the" 2 the under side of the plate 125. The outer, end of theibe'll crank is pivotallyattached to.

pitman 136 to play within the recess 126 of the tablefis a joggerrail or board 144 which extends longitudinally of the table and has.

its forward end'turned outwardly, as showfi at 145, while at the .oppo'sitesideof the table is a fixed rail 146. .VSZhen'Rthe pitman 136 is reciprocated, the jogger board or rail 144 will, of course, move therewithand it will impinge against the side; edge of'the'shee't presentedthereto and move the sheet over to bear againstthe fixed rail 146 so that the sheets "will-bepositively alinedand will be superposed" in registration over the folder blade. The fixed rail146 has its forwardlend curved outwardly, as :shownv at 147, and

alined withthe outer side of the-recess 126 it isa similar rail 148 so tha't'the sheets coming.

from the feed rollers 85 and 86 will be properly guided onto'the' table 82, and itwill be noted, upon referencet o Figure'3, that the ends of the guide rails .146and 148 are" at:

pered so that :they will enter the bight between the feed rolls. .The table 82 is preferably composed of a plurality of parallel 1on gitudinal abutting boards orstrips of mate;

rial, as will be understood uponv reference.

to Figures 4 and 5." These vstripsjand theguide rail'sarecarriedbycross rods 400 secured in the frame bars 84,- brackets 401 being secured to the under sides of 'the strips andadjustably mounted on the crossrods an'd-thejogger 144:.being secured upon the pitman in a similar manner. Preferably,-

as indicated in Figure 3, the brackets 401 are of such-form as to be easilyengaged with or removed from'the cross rods so that-more or less table strips may be used as .desiredand the chute thereby adjusted to. ac wider or narrower sheets.

The sheets with theirfolded edges, pass upcommodate V wardly between the rollers 97' which'press the plies of the folds together and direct thesheets upwardly between guide plates 149 and 150 which are of arcuate form and con verge toward their upper rear ends, and it may be. noted atthis point that the upper edgeof the folder blade is preferably con-' structed-with teeth 'so thatit will more effectually' engage the notched end port-ions of- 'rA shaft'77, mounted-on the lower portion of'the frame, is driven by abelt 78 directly from the motor 7, said belt being trained" aboutia pulley'79 on the-shaft 77'. A chain 241 is. trained about a sprocket on'the shaft 77; and about. a sprocket 240 on a shaft" 239 mounted on the upper part of the frame. The shaft 239 is also equipped with a gear .238 which meshes with a gear 243' on the lower" roller153 so that said rollers will be positively rotatedi- The gear 238' also meshes with one of the gears 244 on the rollers 97 so that said rollers will also beposi tively rotated, "and the shaft of the lower roller 97 carries a sprocket 245, a chain 246 being trained about said sprocket and a sprocket 247:.at the end of the feed. roller 85 so that the latter will be positively driven.

. The cut sheetspass from the cutting mechanism onto the table 82 and thence to the re ciprocating folder blade; Two; sheets have the free ends'or tips of their tongues folded and, simultaneously with the folding action, are caused: to advances'omewhat toward the glue-applying devices, indicated at 300.. The rollers 97 flatten therfolds slightly'but do not crimp them to the desired extent, and the crimpingis accomplished by the rollers153 which also feed the sheets v toward the glueapplying devices.

Having thus described the invention, what.

is claimed is: p e

'-1.- In a book-making machine, the combination of a chute receiving sheets to be bound, feed rollers to feed the sheetsinto the chute, folder mechanism at the low-er end of the chute and resilient guards extending longitudinally above the chute in the path of the advancing sheets-from a. point adjacent the feedrollers. I r

2. book-making machine, the combi nation of a chute receiving sheetsfto bebound, a folder mechanism at the lower end of the chute, and means in the chute for alining the ends and sides of the. sheets passing therethrough.

3. Ina book-making machine, the combi-;

nation of a chute receiving the sheets to be bound, a foldermechanismat the lower end of the chute, a fixed rail atone side of the. chute anda laterally shiftable jogger rail; mounted-at the opposite side ofthe chute to" aline the sheets passing therethrough.

4C. In a bookanaking machine, the combi nation of. a chute receiving sheets to be bound, a folder mechanism at the lower end of the chute, and a longitudinally movable jogger at the receiving end of the chuteact ing upon the sheetsto aline their advancin edges at the folder mechanism.

ingsheets to the folder mechanism, said folder. mechanism comprisinga stop barnormally' disposed in the path of the advancing sheets,

' a folder blade movable upwardly against the sheets adjacent the stop bar andan element carried by the stopbar and movable to yieldably engage the ends of the sheets whereby the upward movement of the folder blade will produce a fold in the end portions of the sheets;

. 6. In a book-making machine,'the combination of a folder mechanism, and means'for feedin sheets to the folder mechanism said b n I n c folder mechanism includln a an of coo '85 5. In a book-making mach1ne,the combination of a folder mechanism, means for feed-.

erating, rollers, asheet-engaging element'below the rollers movable toward and from the same and a blade movable to and from the rollers past-said: element whereby to present the ends of thesheets to the rollers and producea fold therein.

7. In a book-making machine, the combi nation of a foldermechanism, means for feeding sheets to the folder mechanism, said folder mechanism lncludlng a pair of coopcrating rollers, and a blade movable tofa'nd I from the rollers whereby to present the ends of the sheets'to the rollers: and produce a fold therein, and means for limiting the rollers. 7 s

'8. In a book-making machine, the combination of a folder mechanism, and means for feeding sheets to the folder mechanism,.said' folder mechanism comprising elements torestrain upward movement of the ends of the sheets, and a folder blade movable upward- 1y between said elementsjwhereby to feed the I ends of the sheetsbetween the said elements and producea fold therein. 7

9. In a book-making machine, the combination of a folder mechanism, and means for feeding sheets to the folder-mechanism, said I folder mechanism including a slotted sheet? movement of the folder blade toward the supporting bar, a folder blade movable through said bar to engage a sheet over the slot therein, a movable stop bar adjacent said slotted bar to arrest the sheets thereover, a bracket projecting from said stop bar over the slotted bar, and means whereby said bracket will be caused to yieldably hold sheets to the slotted bar whereby the engagement of the blade with the sheets will form a fold therein.

10. In a book-making machine, the combination of a chute through which sheets to be bound may pass, a skid in the chute at the receiving end thereof, a folder mechanism at the lower end of the chute, a stop bar adjacent the folder mechanism, a jogger bar disposed transversely in the chute adjacent the skid and means for reciprocating said jogger bar longitudinally of the chute whereby to aline sheets against the stop bar.

11. Ina book-making machine the combination of a chute through which sheets to be bound may pass, a folder mechanism at the lower end of the chute, a fixed rail at one side of the chute, a ogger rail at the'opposite side of the chute,a transverse stop bar in the upper end portion of the chute, an. angle lever mounted on the chute, operative connections between saidlever and the jogger bar, a pitman connected with the lever and the ogger rail, and means for reciprocating the pitman.

12. In a book-making machine, the combination of a chute having a transverse slot at its lower end, means for stopping a sheet with its end over said slot, leaf-restraining elements above and at opposite sides of said slot, and a folder blade movable upward through the slot to engage a sheet and push it between said elements to fold the sheet.

13. In a. book-making machine, the combination of a chute having a transverse slot at its lower end, a pair of folder rolls above the slot, a stopbar in the path of sheetsmoving from the slot, a bracket on said bar overhanging the end of the chute and having an upwardly projecting lip extending between the rolls, a deflector at the opposite sidesof theslot between the slot and the rolls, a folder blade movable through the slot and between the bracket and the deflector to engage a sheet and form afold therein, and

' means for moving the stop bar and bracket simultaneously with the blade whereby a sheet may be held over the slot to be engaged by theblade and released as the blade moves upwardly.

14. In a book-making machine, the" com-v blade, a rocking lever fulcrumed between its ends below the chute and having one end under the blade to move therewith, a link connecting the opposite end of the lever with the stop bar, and a retra'ctile spring at its lower end secured at a fixed oint.

In testimony whereof I a x my signature.

CHARLES C. HOWARD. [L. s.]

'ZJ upper end connected with the stop bar and its bination of a chute having a transverseslot 1 i at its lower end, afolder blade movable through the. slot, a stop bar in the path of V a sheet moving over the slot, a bracket on the stop bar overhanging the end of the chute, means for reciprocating the folder 

